I sure wish that the Clergy Project was around when I was struggling with these same issues…

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Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

I had a similar journey, except I lost my faith halfway through my first semester of seminary. I’m glad to learn I’m quicker on the uptake than some people. I would have hated to waste the next 20 years of my life coming to grips with something so obvious. I regret wasting the first 22 years of my life believing in bullshit.

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You cannot have a rational discussion with someone who holds irrational beliefs.

Well, Darron, as you can see from the article, such inner conflicts start to take place long before one actually comes to grips with them. As you may know, for many people in these specific situations, there is often much more at stake than merely dignity and clarity of conscience…

Having said all of that, while I do have my regrets, I am also thankful for many of the good things that I derived from my time as a committed Christian. It’s given me just another perspective on issues, and even helps me understand the devoutly religious person’s mind, his/her reasoning processes, and the similar struggles that they deal with on a regular basis.

Not that I feel such an experience is necessary for everyone. I just recognize my religious past as just part of the many experiences that helped to make me who I am.

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Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.